Hello DTC 354! My name is Gunner- I’m a junior, DTC major, and creative writing minor. I vastly prefer fiction to non-fiction, but I’m not usually picky about mediums of storytelling. I tend to love anything fantasy, horror, or comedy.
I think what most captures me about stories varies with each medium, but is consistently stylistic innovation and emotional catharsis. Seeing artists approach a story with architectural precision is always satisfying for me, especially when the story beats are rigidly calibrated to break my heart by the end.
Some formative pieces of media have been Ursula Leguin’s ‘The Left Hand of Darkness’ (Really cool, shockingly romantic, atmospheric sci-fi deconstruction of gender. Ideally this book would be discussed in the same breath as Dune), The Royal Tenenbaums (Warm, hilarious, informed my love of symmetry and Owen Wilson in cowboy hats), and Bloodborne (An authentic recreation of London). Some miscellaneous recent favorites are Memories of Murder, Celeste, and anything Hayao Miyazaki has ever touched. And Aftersun, if you feel like crying a lot. I’ll round this out with SAGA and Chainsaw Man, both serialized graphic novels that juggle dozens of charming, homicidal, deeply scarred characters.
I write short fiction occasionally, but largely stick to consuming and thinking about stories all day. I’ve loved reading everybody’s introductions and am very excited for this class and discussing stories with all of you!